No more white space

Or know more white space? Cam and I couldn't figure it out.

street wings

Meg and I found this perfect paint spill

And then, night after night, Michelle would introduce me on the mic as 'he' and that was alright, it was really alright. Each town would watch me get on stage and approve, and laugh and applaud and treat me like a human being afterwards, and roll these new syllables off their tongues, him or he or his. I even started to look forward to climbing those stairs into the spotlight of endorsement.

Trans Underwear Modelling Project

Hahaha colouring when left to my own devices! Check out this project in rational tones at http://transunderwear.blogspot.com/

She Holiday

trans?

The first person to publicly call me 'he' was Michelle Tea. Huh. Some brave coming-out story this is. I thought it would be masterful. I thought the heavens would open and a halleluja chorus would sing as my true identity finally revealed itself. I thought the handsome man buried in my mirror would emerge for all the world to see.

But instead, this is what happened. Michelle went onstage and said "the next performer is Elisha Lim. He is a graphic novelist and he will be publishing his book 100 Butches this year." I stood at the bottom of the stage stairs and froze.

I can't go up there.

I can't follow that introduction.

That's not me.

I'm not that 'he'.

This is terrifying.

Aaaack.

candy tourism

I ate so much chocolate in America. I tried to document it from my backseat in the van. I have to learn how to use audio. It's precariously set to a song I wrote once.

drunk butch wax art...

happy face

My back alley is much less cheerful than the one I grew up in. This plastic yellow pail got broken into pieces last week.

Bittersweet. Is this a rare celebration of raw, unflitered Asian masculinity or the reinforcement of a stereotype? Either way it bears the pride of flying outside of an Asian-run business downtown, and it's a very lovely portrait.

I was very proud of this picture! It's a very old portrait of a guy I love with the view from Robarts starting in the background.

drawing this was one of the happiest moments in my life - great company, butch identification, the allure of Berlin and an immense sense of freedom. I'd wanted to use one of my own drawings as a tattoo - I think this will be it. Where should it go...?

genderfOC

I am so proud to participate in this! Power to us!

new tattoo

I'm still on tour and never online but I wanted to document this rather impulsive tour adventure - an airplane tattoo. Do you ever feel like you're always moving, or that your heart is always far away? So do I! This plane is flying from my throat down my arm.

peewee herman

Ok this is it! I'm going away! 6 weeks on the road for the most mind blowing honour I've ever had, a 100 Butches book tour with Michelle Tea. I'm going to be away from the blog for a long while now. Thank you for reading, I'll be back in mid-May, and please, if you're on any of this list of cities please come OUT and say HI! sisterspit.org/tourscheduleUStour.html xoxoxo love Elisha

Inspector Gadget

vietnamese tea

Qiu Jin

This was an early draft of a 100 Butches comic about this legendary Chinese heroine.

one hundred percent mixed race

words by thea lim for mixed-race project "100%"